Tuesday, 1 September 2015

A majority of Nigerians value their right to move freely within West
Africa but say that crossing borders for work or trade is difficult, according
to the latest Afrobarometer survey.

The survey findings provide a snapshot of Nigerians’ mixed views on
their country’s international relations, including their difficulties in crossing
international borders, their assessment of assistance provided by the African
Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), their
preference for the United States as a model for Nigeria’s development, and
their appreciation of China’s contributions as a business and development
partner.

These findings are detailed in Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 43. Other
survey findings on Nigeria are explored dispatches No. 11, 18, and 29. All are
available at www.afrobarometer.org.

Key findings

Six in
10 Nigerians (62%) say West Africans should be able to move freely across
international borders in order to trade or work, but more than
half (54%) say that doing so is “difficult” or “very difficult.”

The United States is the
preferred development model for Nigeria, favoured by 43% of respondents,
followed by China (25%).

Two-thirds (67%) of Nigerians
perceive China’s economic and political influence on Nigeria as “very
positive” or “somewhat positive.”

Two-thirds (67%)
say they did not receive remittances from friends or relatives living
outside of the country during the previous year.

Afrobarometer

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research
network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance,
economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in
Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013, and Round
6 surveys are currently under way (2014-2015). Afrobarometer conducts
face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with
nationally representative samples.

Fieldwork for Afrobarometer Round 6 in Nigeria was conducted
by Practical Sampling International (PSI) in collaboration with the CLEEN
Foundation. PSI interviewed 2,400 adult Nigerians between 5 December 2014 and
19 January 2015. The sample covered 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states, as well as the
Federal Capital Territory. It was not possible to conduct interviews in three
states in the North East zone – Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe – due to unrest in the
region, so substitutions of sampling units were made from neighbouring states
in the same zone. Thus, each of the country’s zones is represented in
proportion to its share of the national population. A sample of this size
yields results at the national level with a margin of sampling error of +/-2%
at a 95% confidence level. Previous Afrobarometer surveys have been conducted
in Nigeria in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2012.

Respondents were asked:
In your opinion, how easy or difficult is it for people in West Africa to cross
international borders in order to work or trade in other countries, or haven’t
you heard enough to say? (%)

Figure 2: Perceptions of
ECOWAS and AU assistance to Nigeria | 2014

Respondents were asked: In your
opinion, how much does each of the following do to help your country, or
haven’t you heard enough to say: a) The Economic Community for West African
States or ECOWAS?b) The African Union?
(%)

Figure 3: Best model for
development |
Nigeria | 2014

Respondents were asked: In
your opinion, which of the following countries, if any, would be the best model
for the future development of our country? (%)

Figure 4: Contributors to
China’s negative image in Nigeria | 2014

Respondents were asked: Which of the following
factors contributes most to negative images of China in Nigeria, or haven’t you
heard enough to say? (%)